


instincts are misleading (you shouldn't think what you're feeling)

by musicspeakstoo



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Royalty, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-24
Updated: 2015-01-24
Packaged: 2018-03-06 13:27:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3136124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicspeakstoo/pseuds/musicspeakstoo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Geno and Jonny have to get married for their countries. Jonny thinks he'll hate living in Russia for half the year, hate his new husband who he had to spend months learning Russian for. He doesn't expect Geno to be so great.</p>
            </blockquote>





	instincts are misleading (you shouldn't think what you're feeling)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [whynotsteponover](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whynotsteponover/gifts).



> this is for the hockey exchange for thecaterpillareffect. title is from "lightness" by death cab for cutie.

Jonathan Toews absolutely hates Evgeni Malkin. He hates him like he hates few things because, as Crown Prince of Canada, he doesn’t have a lot of bad things in his life. Except, that is, for the fact that he is going to marry Malkin, the Crown Prince of Russia. He also hates, of all the Crown Princes, he’s the one who has to marry Evgeni Malkin. There are several Crown Princes actually, he's technically the Crown Prince of Winnipeg, but foreigners don’t usually remember which part of Canada each branch of the royal family is from and tend to think of Canada as a single glob. 

Marrying Malkin means he’ll have to spend at least half the year in Russia and he’ll be expected to learn Russian. Jonathan already knows English and French from his princely duties; he doesn’t want to learn a new language at 14, especially since he won’t actually marry Malkin until he’s 18.

His mother tells him to suck it up and reminds him that his cousin Sidney (Crown Prince of Nova Scotia, and one of Jonny’s favorite relatives) had to marry a Crown Prince of Russia too and was also upset about it but look how happy he and Alex are now. Jonny knows better than to fight with his mother and does not remind her that Sidney and Alex spent the first year of their marriage getting into fistfights. He just scowls and returns to his book on Russia’s history, not really focusing on the royal family part too much because Russia has the same problem as Canada does in terms of Crown Princes and how they all blend together. He figures Malkin probably won’t know where he’s from, so Jonny shouldn’t have to either.

When he turns 15, the Duke of America, TJ Oshie, comes to visit. It’s rumored he’s supposedly here to scout out a potential spouse for a new treaty, but mostly what happens is the two of them meet and become practically inseparable. They’re both really into hockey, trading stats while they pass the puck back and forth on the indoor rink located in the palace. Jonny confides in TJ about his arranged marriage. 

“It’s just not fucking fair that my whole life is gonna be upended and this jerk doesn’t even have to lift a fucking finger,” Jonny whines

“You don’t actually know he’s a jerk, you know.”

TJ’s a romantic, his whole family is, which is why he’s allowed to choose the Canadian royal he’s going to marry. He believes in love at first sight and all that other mushy shit. Truthfully, Jonny likes the idea of love at first sight, but he knows it won’t happen with Malkin. There’s just no way.

Jonny scowls. “Oh, he’s totally a jerk and he’s ruining my life and I’ve never even seen his face!”

TJ flips the puck at him. “Quit being so dramatic. I have an even bigger problem. Man, I’m supposed to pick a royal to marry and the only one I’ve met that I can more than tolerate is you.”

They both made a face at the idea of being married to each other.

“Okay, yeah, that does suck, but you’re still allowed to choose, I have to marry Malkin.”

TJ thinks about that. “Yeah, okay, your life sucks more.”

Jonny scowls and then checks him into the boards.

TJ ends up engaged to a princess, an American one, as the American royal family found another Duke to tie to Canada. Jonny doesn't really know the logistics of it, just that he cries pretty hard at the wedding. They have to go back to America, though, and Jonny’s upset to see him go, even though they’ll still keep in touch. 

After TJ leaves, a few weeks after Jonny’s 16th birthday, his parents start sending him out to trips to children’s hospitals and to local youth hockey programs. He thinks they’re trying to show Malkin and his family that he’s good with kids or something like that. Or maybe they’re just trying to distract him from the fact that TJ’s gone. Jonny honestly doesn’t know and he really doesn’t care because he loves spending time with kids. The kids are great, always enthusiastic and sometimes a little star-struck. 

Jonny feels a pang in his chest after he leaves them and always starts to think longingly about having kids of his own when he’s older, but then remembers that it’s going to be with Malkin and angrily shoves the thought away. He doesn’t even know if Malkin is going to want kids and his is the only opinion that matters anyway. Canada needs stronger ties to Russia, one royal marriage is apparently not enough, and so Jonny is essentially a present to get Canada in on Russia’s trading routes. Jonny knows his coming back to Canada after the marriage is only a formality and if Malkin wants, Jonny might never get to see his family or his country again.

Jonny buckles down and really studies hard, learning about the culture and the politics of Russia. He figures if he’s stuck marrying Malkin, he can at least be reassured by the fact that he’s just as smart as Malkin. Probably even smarter. Some days, though, Jonny can’t help but wonder if he’s gotten this whole thing all wrong. If maybe Malkin is actually really nice and really cool and Jonny’s just overreacting. Then he remembers that he’ll be leaving his country and his family behind to marry the guy and then all of his negative feelings return.

When Jonny turns 17, the preparations for him to go to Russia begin. He doesn’t really get why they have to start so soon, they’re not leaving until a couple days after his birthday and the wedding has been planned years in advance, but apparently just sticking them on the private jet and going to Russia is a lot more complicated than he thought. 

He does wonder what Malkin looks like, though.

He also starts to make an effort to think of Malkin as Evgeni.

Unfortunately, this line of thought seeps into his jerk-off time. He’s still a virgin (those childhood horror stories of what happened to people when their new spouses found out they weren’t virgins scared him very early), but he does jerk off. He’s only human and can’t really bring himself to think that Malkin, Evgeni, will mind. He has never seen a picture of Evgeni, though he knows he could probably Google him and find out what he looks like. Centuries ago, it was considered bad luck for two people in an arranged marriage to see each other’s faces before the wedding, however Jonny knows that they’re pressing their luck with getting the Russian royal family to let them meet a few days before the wedding, so he doesn’t. He can imagine, though, when he’s naked in bed and stroking himself. 

He can wonder if Evgeni is taller than him, something he knows he likes in guys, can wonder if he likes to top in bed or if he likes to bottom. Jonny has no experience with either but he thinks it would be nice to try both. He imagines Evgeni holding him down and fucking him hard. Or sometimes he imagines riding Evgeni until they both come. Sometimes he’ll take out his hidden stash of lube and finger himself until he comes, all the while imagining what Evgeni’s fingers might feel like inside him.

Jonny is not at all prepared for the day he meets Evgeni. The flight is really long and even though the jet itself is comfortable, he gets a crick in his neck from sleeping funny. They arrive at the palace at around midnight and are immediately given rooms to sleep in, the butler informing them that the family is happy to let them sleep before the meeting and also telling them that Sid and Ovechkin are here. The last part surprises the part of Jonny that’s still currently functioning, he didn’t know they were coming, but his parents just nod, so they must have planned this. Jonny hits the bed without bothering to do anything besides take his shoes off and falls asleep immediately.

He wakes up to someone knocking at the door. It’s the butler from before, informing him that his parents are up and there is breakfast waiting in the dining hall. Jonny gets dressed and then lets the butler lead him to where everyone is eating. He greets his parents and the King and Queen before he allows himself to look over to where Evgeni is seated. When he turns to him, he freezes. Evgeni is, in fact, taller than Jonny. Broader, too, with dark eyes and full lips and-

Evgeni clears his throat and Jonny flushes as he realizes that he’d been staring. 

“Hello,” Jonny says in Russian, “I’m Jonathan. Or Jonny.”

Evgeni’s face lights up and he says, “Hello. I am Evgeni. Or Geno. Or Zhenya.” His voice is low and Jonny likes the sound of it.

“Nice to meet you, Geno.” Geno seems the easiest to pronounce and it makes him smile.

They sit down to eat, but Jonny quickly loses track of the conversation because he’s too busy staring at Geno. He’s not exactly the first definition of handsome that comes to mind, but he’s not exactly average looking either. Jonny keeps flicking his eyes to Geno’s lips as they part and imagines what kissing him would be like.

He’s interrupted in his musings by the doors opening and Sidney and Alex walking through them. Sidney greets Jonny’s parents formally, and then does the same to Geno’s parents.

“Hi Jonny. You look well.” 

Jonny clears his throat, “Hi Sid. I have been well. Glad that you could make it.”

Alex rolls his eyes and mutters, “Canadians,” under his breath before kissing Geno’s parents on the cheek and then plopping down next to Geno and pressing a loud, smacking kiss to the side of Geno’s face and stealing some of his toast.

“Hi, Sasha.” Geno says, fighting a smile.

Sidney rolls his eyes, but can’t keep the horribly fond expression off of his face. He sits next to Alex and thanks the man who brings them both plates of food. They both dig in and conversation resumes, revolving around what Alex and Sidney have been up to and how various members of the royal families are doing. Jonny tunes it out and goes back to staring at Geno, who is laughing at something that Alex has just said. There’s lightness to Geno that wasn’t there before and Jonny desperately wants it to stay. His eyes flicker over to his cousin, who is watching him with a fond and knowing look.

Their parents let them go early and the four of them go for a walk in the gorgeous palace gardens. Geno and Jonny end up lagging behind, letting Alex and Sidney walk ahead, the two of them holding hands. It is a romantic place, Jonny guesses, and then realizes that that’s probably the point. Geno’s pink when Jonny looks over at him and he guesses that Geno’s figured it out too. Geno’s a lot quieter than Jonny thought he would be and there’s something really sweet about him.

Geno grins at him sheepishly, “Mama thinks that if we do romantic things, then wedding won’t be as strange.”

“It sounds like a good plan.”

Geno seems to think about this and then says, “Yes, if not for the sneaky way it’s being put into place.”

Jonny laughs, “That’s true.”

Geno seems delighted that he got Jonny to laugh and they walk in silence, grinning at each other out of the corner of their eyes.

Alex and Sidney come back to them and Sidney draws Geno into a conversation about some historical event that Sidney’s been reading about. 

“It’s strange, isn’t it?” Alex asks him and, at Jonny’s confused look, clarifies, “just meeting the person you are going to spend the rest of your life with.”

Jonny’s not sure where this is going, but he nods anyway.

Alex is quiet for a long moment before saying, “Zhenya isn’t like me, he’s much more sensitive, always has been, especially when we were children. A lot of the other kids didn’t understand him. He just wants to make friends and have his parents be proud of him. When he saw how Sid and I first fought when we were married, it scared him. He did not want to be married to someone who hated him, even though Sid and I aren’t like that now.” He glances over at Jonny to make sure that he’s still listening and Jonny says, “I don’t want to be married to someone who hates me either.”

Alex nods and continues, “You have to be careful with Zhenya. I know you Canadians are not used to being open with your feelings, but you can’t shut down on him. He disguises his hurt with anger and you may not realize you’ve hurt him until it’s too late.”

Alex stops him and turns so they’re facing each other, “He’s been looking forward to you for a long time. Don’t do what Sid and I did and act like stubborn idiots about it. There will be an adjustment period.”

Jonny nods. He knows that Canada doesn’t exactly have the closest-knit royal family, but the fact that Alex is telling him all this shows how close the two of them are.

Sidney and Geno catch up with them and Alex holds out an arm for Sidney, who tucks himself under Alex. 

“We’ll let you two have some alone time.” Sidney says, winking at them.

Jonny has a feeling they’re the ones who want the alone time. Jonny won’t begrudge his cousin that and apparently neither will Geno because he steers them back to the palace.

They end up sitting in the library, comparing childhood anecdotes; most of Geno’s involve Alex and getting into trouble for things he didn’t do. Jonny tells Geno about the time he and TJ were wrestling in TJ’s room and they accidentally broke an antique vase and how they had gone on a quest to find glue to put it back together, practically upending the entire palace before confessing to his mother. They talk for hours, only stopping once they’re both yawning frequently.

Geno walks Jonny back to his room and says, “This has been a very good day, I hope to have many more like it.”

Jonny nods and, before he has time to react, Geno leans down and presses a brief, soft kiss to Jonny’s lips.

“Goodnight, Jonny.” Geno turns and walks away.

“Goodnight, Geno.” Jonny calls after him.

He falls asleep with a small smile on his face.

Jonny wakes up the next morning still a little groggy, but he smiles when he remembers how well yesterday had gone. There’s a knock at the door and when Jonny calls for them to come in, Sidney’s face appears in the open door.

“Hey.” 

“Hey,” Jonny replies

Sidney comes in and sits down at the end of Jonny’s bed. Jonny raises his eyebrow, because the Sidney he remembers would never have done that.

Sidney laughs, “Yeah, I know, I think Sasha’s been influencing me more than I realized.” 

Sidney has a fond expression on his face and Jonny wants to ask something, but he’s not sure what.

Sidney makes that decision for him, chuckling softly before saying, “It’s weird, right? Spending all your time hating this random, faceless person who you’re going to marry only to meet them and find out you don’t really hate them that much.”

Jonny nods, a little sheepish, and says, “I spent years hating him, but I didn’t expect him to be so great.” 

Sidney nods thoughtfully, “Well, you’re already doing better than I was by admitting it now. I didn’t allow myself to think about all of the good parts of Sasha until after we’d been married for a while.”

“And now you guys don’t fight at all.”

Sidney snorts. “Oh, we fight all the time, but that’s what works for us. You and Geno have to figure out what works for you guys.”

Jonny nods. “I guess that makes sense. I’m mostly still stuck on the part where Geno isn’t as terrible and I thought he’d be.”

Sidney laughs at that and then there’s silence, but it’s not uncomfortable. The Canadian royal family really isn’t that close and this has been a bonding session of sorts for the two of them.

Eventually, Sidney clears his throat and says, “I actually was sent to come get you. The two of you have last minute suit fittings and then I think there’s some charity events you have to do, most likely visiting orphanages or something like that.” 

Jonny nods and Sidney leaves while he gets dressed and then the two of them walk to the dining room where they eat a quick breakfast with his parents and then he’s whisked off to the tailor. It takes a while, getting into the tux and letting everyone look over it. He’s half-distracted anyway, last night’s kiss firmly on his mind. It’s only when the tailor steps back that he looks in the mirror. His tux is classic and fits well, but he doesn’t really recognize himself in the mirror. He looks a lot older and it makes his mother tear up. 

After that, he and Geno are sent to go meet children in an orphanage. It turns out that Geno loves kids and is really good with them. Jonny’s reading to a group of little kids and when he looks over at Geno, he’s coloring with a little girl, offering her crayons to use and laughing as she wrinkles her nose at one. Jonny can picture what he would be like with their kids and then immediately flushes at that line of thinking. It’s a successful day, the kids’ smiles staying with Jonny after they’ve left. 

In the car ride back, Geno says, “That was fun, yes?”

Jonny tears his gaze away from the window and says, “Yeah, it was. Maybe we could do it again?”

Geno smiles. “I think we can do that.” He waits for a beat. “Are you excited, for the wedding?”

It’s a little strange to be asking now, two days before the wedding, but Jonny says, “Yeah, I am,” anyway.

Geno’s smile turns a little shy as he replies, “Good. Me too.”

Jonny smiles and turns back to look out the window, jumping a little when he feels something touch his hand. He turns to see Geno’s hand on his, face gone furiously pink. Jonny feels himself blush just as red and then intertwines their fingers, making the both of them blush more. Jonny looks at Geno out of the corner of his eye and sees that he’s smiling and smiles himself. They stay like that for the rest of the ride back. 

The next day, Jonny goes with his parents on a tour of the kingdom because apparently he’s not allowed to see Geno today. Jonny’s pretty sure that’s only for the day of the actual wedding, but his parents are leaving the day after the wedding and he won’t see them for a long time. They take in the sights and reminisce about various relatives’ antics and trips they used to take to the lake. His parents drop him off at his room at the end of the day and he takes a moment to hug them tightly, memorizing how they smell and how it feels to hug them. There are some things that Skype can’t replicate.

There’s a tap on his door later that night and before he can say anything, the door opens and Geno pokes his head in. 

Jonny smiles at him and then says, “I thought we weren’t supposed to see each other.”

Geno steps into the room and rolls his eyes, “It’s not midnight, still not our wedding day, I think we will be okay.”

Geno hovers awkwardly before sitting on Jonny’s bed. Jonny puts the book he was reading aside and looks at Geno.

Geno’s silent, like he’s debating something. 

“Geno?” Jonny prompts.

Geno takes a deep breath and then leans in to kiss Jonny. Immediately, it’s different from their first kiss. It’s not brief, for one thing, and Jonny feels Geno’s tongue licking along the seam of Jonny’s lips. He opens his mouth to let Geno in, moving forward to deepen the kiss. Geno’s tongue brushes against his and Jonny moans, one hand coming up to tangle itself in Geno’s hair. Geno’s mouth is warm and so are his hands where they come to rest on Jonny’s hips. Geno bites down gently on Jonny’s lower lip and he whines in response. This encourages Geno, who kisses Jonny more aggressively, his grip on Jonny’s hips tightening. Jonny’s not sure how long they make out, only that he can feel himself getting hard. A sudden thud makes both of them jump and Jonny realizes that they’ve knocked Jonny’s book off of the bed and that sometime during their make out, he’d moved onto Geno’s lap. 

Both of them look at each other and then laugh, Geno burying his face in Jonny’s neck. Jonny happens to glance at the clock and groans when it reads 11:50. 

“Geno, it’s nearly midnight, you should go.” Jonny can’t keep the reluctance out of his voice. He doesn’t actually want Geno to go. 

Geno groans in displeasure, but he lifts Jonny off of him, making Jonny gasp, and gets up. 

He cups Jonny’s face in his hand and strokes his cheek, says, “After tomorrow, we can do that always.”

Jonny smiles at him, “I don’t know about always, but I look forward to it.”

Geno kisses him again, sweet and closemouthed. As he slips out the door, he says, “Sleep well, Jonny.”

“Sleep well, Geno,” Jonny says.

Before he goes to sleep, he jerks off to the memory of Geno’s mouth and how easily he had lifted Jonny off of him. As he drifts off, he thinks about how this is the last time he’ll have to sleep alone. 

The morning of his wedding is bright and the warmest it’s been since they got here. He’s woken up by his mother throwing his curtains open and he half-listens to her rattle off the day's schedule before she throws his tux on the bed and whisks off, hopefully to get him breakfast. He showers and shaves and when he gets out, there’s a full breakfast tray waiting for him. He eats while he gets dressed, thankful his mom isn’t here to see him engage in “un-princely behavior”. 

Jonny has to wait an hour for his parents to get ready, alternating between trying to calm his nerves and wondering what Geno’s doing right now. Eventually, they’re ready and the three of them make their way to the reception hall. Jonny’s distracted by how beautiful it all is to really see where they’re going, so he couldn’t really say how they got to their room. He waits there with his parents, his nerves giving way to excitement. He knows Geno meant what he said last night, can still feel Geno’s hands on his hips and the feeling of his hair in Jonny’s fingers. 

After what feels like an eternity, they are told that the ceremony is about to begin. He takes his place at the doors, his parents a few feet behind him, as tradition dictates. The music starts and then the doors open. Geno’s in a purple suit, something that only he could pull off. Jonny’s attention is quickly pulled from his suit to his smile, which is huge and Jonny feels himself smiling in response. 

He reaches the altar and turns to face Geno. His smile is still wide and he looks even better up close. The justice of the peace clears his throat, everyone sits down, and the two of them turn to face each other. The ceremony is in both Russian and English and Jonny can’t remember half of it. He’s too busy sneaking peeks at Geno, who is attentively listening to the justice of the peace. Their vows are generic, as is custom for all arranged marriages. Jonny’s not sure if he could have written heartfelt vows, not after three days of knowing Geno, but he wishes they could have written their own anyway. 

Finally, the justice of the peace says, “I now pronounce you two husbands. You may now kiss your spouse.” 

Geno turns to him, a warm expression on his face. This kiss is just as brief as their first one, but warmer. They walk back down the aisle, rice being thrown above them (or, in Alex’s case, thrown at them) to shower them. They get into the car to go to the party and Jonny grabs Geno’s hand, excited to start his life with his new husband.


End file.
